And so it was ti for another ergency eting of the Thirsty Goat Family. This ti with steak sandwiches and white sauce. Everyone was in attendance, except Kirk, who was off human-ing.
The eting imdiately ground to a halt as the only sounds in the living room were groans of pleasure and the wet smacking of mastication. A word that ans chewing, you dirty minded shitgibbons
I was of two minds. One one side they were incredibly delicious sandwiches. On the other, it reminded a bit too much of the sandwiches Bran used to make in the mining camp. Which made think of brain-jacking Abilities and giant ants and… well, focus on the now Pete. Breath in, breath out, rember the King’s beaming face.
Honestly, it worked pretty well. The King’s massive charisma made him very easy to rember, and thoughts of him imdiately wiped out any other worries. I’d have to send him a thank you bottle of wine when I made one.
Though… it would probably be worse than the original. Shit, that was going to be annoying. I was going from being the best brewer, to almost certainly the worst. At least it would be good for the Forefather of Brewing’s ego.
The first to finish their sandwich and talk was Richter. “Can I just get ‘dis straight? Peter, you’ve been offered ‘da chance to beco an Ambassador. ‘Dey want you to go topside and teach all ‘de dwarves and elves how to brew beer?”
I nodded.
Richter nodded. “Okay. Let just be ‘de first to say, ‘dat sounds amazing, and I am very happy for you. Also, FUCK no, I’m staying here.”
The usually straight-laced Richter really got that swear word out there, and there was a hacking sound as Annie patted Aqua on the back while the blue-bearded dwarfess choked on her sandwich.
“Anyone else?” Annie deadpanned.
Hands stayed resolutely down. Bando started to raise his, got ‘the look’ from his mother, and slowly dropped it.
“I just don’t think anyone wants to do that right now, Pete.” Aqua explained, desperately wiping bits of sandwich out of her beard. “The past couple of years have been more excitent than most dwarves experience in a lifeti. I just want to… brew, and sing, find a beardfriend, and play hitball. I’m sick of crisis after crisis.”
There were murmurs of agreent.
I sighed. “Aye, I figured as much. But I wanted you all to know that I’m planning on takin’ the deal. Aqua convinced .”
All eyes nailed Aqua and she rolled hers. “It was therapy. Therapy. I didn’t tell him anything, he decided all on his own.”
“Hey,” I protested, grinning, “you aren’t supposed to talk about our therapy sessions!”
“Shad-dup. You started it. And I think he’s right, everyone. He’s going to beco insufferable in short order without sothing driving him. Can you imagine a rich, bored, lorded, Pete? Stuck in here with you for the next century?”
There was a group shiver, to my feeble protests.
“Sorry brother, but you might be on yer own.” Balin grimaced. “I donnae want ta leave Annie, and we’re still explorin’ Deepcore.”
Annie reached over and patted on the shoulder. “Then I guess that’s that.”
Well, it was about what I’d expected. “bbe Kirk will want to co,” I mumbled.
“Do you have anything you need to do before you go?” Bando put in. “Ya ain’t just leavin’ tomorrow, right?”
“Aye! And don’t you be doin’ it for free, hear! You’d better get sothing good out of it!” Rosie added.
I pointed at our resident coupon-cutter and general manager. “Rosie, that’s brilliant! They really want , so what should I ask for? Brainstorming, everyone!”
Richter put up his hand. “Rare books?”
I shook my head. “Naw, we can always buy those, we need sothing that only the governnt can give us.”
“Tax breaks?” Annies asked, grimacing. “I still can’t believe they’re charging us a tax on buried treasure.”
“A pass on health inspections?” Bando asked, hopefully.
“You still got’s ta clean the kitchen boyo.” His father, Darrel groused.
“Enchanted items!” Richter hooted.
I even activated [Flash of insight], but it didn’t really give any new ideas that couldn’t be solved by throwing money at it. It did reveal that I’d need to stock up on armoured socks before leaving.
Balin had been quiet and contemplative, and he spoke into the silence that fell as people ran out of ideas. “If yer leavin’, Pete… what about access to the teleportation circle? Then we’d be able to ship our brew to the surface, and co visit ya. Us adventurers use tha’ dungeon teleporters all tha’ ti, and they’re great.”
I blinked. The teleportation circle in Kinsahsa was a very private affair, limited to a few old clans, and governnt big-wigs. Everyone else had to brave the winding, dangerous, old road through the depths.
“That’s brilliant, dear! Especially if they’re trying to spread beer to the surface! They’ll probably jump at the idea!” Annie whooped with jubilation and wrapped Balin in a big hug, planting a big kiss on his brow.
I nodded. “Okay, teleporter access for one. Anything else?”
“Tax breaks?” Annie asked, hopefully.
I rolled my eyes. “Tax breaks. I’ll ask, but no promises. Anything they’re likely to accept?”
A few more ideas were pitched, from zoning exceptions, to royal titles, to ‘get out of jail free’ cards (the last was my idea).
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
In the end, we landed on just teleportation permission. It was feasible, and avoided pushing for too much.
As we wound down, Annie finally asked the big question, “When will you leave?”
I shrugged. “Dunno. I assu relatively soon. Joseph seed eager to start.”
“Do you have anything you need to do before you go?” Aqua asked, putting her therapy hat on.
I thought about it. “The business is pretty much in hand between Whistlemop, Copperpot, and you lot. But… I’ve been thinking. When I t with Sam, he ntioned my mother. I – ah – left her a lot of debt, apparently. I’ve been avoiding it, but I should really deal with that.”
“Pete!” Rosie said, shocked. “How could you!”
“I – you – It wasn’t –“ I gawped, looking at her with consternation, my eyes flicking to Bando. The youngster still wasn’t in the know about my past, but his parents were. I hadn’t left Pete’s Erdly mother with mounds of debt!
Rosie followed my eyes and flushed. “Oh, I get it.”
“I don’t…” Bando’s eyes narrowed. “What’re you all talkin’ about.”
“Don’t worry about it, dearie.” His mother patted him on the back, and he grumbled.
It was at that mont that I got a notification.
*Bing!*
Quest Complete: Elven Influencer Part 1/10
One down, 9 to go!
Gained [Adjust Taste]!
New Quest: Elven Influencer Part 2/10
Influence 5,000 elves with your otherworldly alcohol knowledge
Like I said, go make so wine!
Elves Influenced: 50/5000
Rewards: 0.4 Charisma
Do you accept?
Yes/No
“Huh…” I muttered while accepting the quest, “I just got a Milestone.”
“Lucky bastard.” Johnsson muttered. “Gets Milestones practically just fer existing.”
“Hey,” I protested, “I worked hard fer this.”
“What did you get?” Aqua asked, sitting forward with interest.
“One sec.” I pulled up the information on the new Ability. It was one I’d been looking forward to.
[Adjust Taste] - You may have heard the saying “You can't really understand another person's experience until you've walked a mile in their shoes.” This lets you walk a mile in their tongue. Adjust your sense of taste to match a chosen target.
This ability can be used once per day and lasts for one hour.
I read the Ability once in my head, and again out loud. It wasn’t as exciting as I’d hoped, but it certainly had its uses in brewing. Especially in a world with different races! At the sa ti…
It was kinda h. Ah well, Milestones weren’t where the really cool stuff was. That was the Blessings, and speaking of which…
“I need ta Specialize,” I comnted offhand.
Bando actually jumped in his seat. “Already!? Howin tarnation!? I know fer a fact you Specialized last year!”
“I really do work hard.” I grinned at him, then considered my options. “Now’s as good a chance as any. How’s about you all lend so advice.”
There were general murmurs of agreent and I considered which Milestones I was going to throw into the woodchipper; sacrificing rare, special, and thed Milestones gave a more powerful Specialization.
I had: [Power Pick], [Basic Slash], [White Lie], [ntal Maths], [Big Money], [Thick Skin], [Friend: Gnos], [Pete’s Miniature Rembrance], [Long Stride],[Sense Poison],[Spot Clean], [Unbending], [Rapid Aging], [Lucky Break], [Pete’s Lucky Brew], [Wayfinder], and now [Adjust Taste].
All the combat, socialization, and mining Abilities were out, which left: [Big Money], [Pete’s Miniature Rembrance], [Rapid Aging], [Lucky Break], [Pete’s Lucky Brew], [Spot Clean], [Sense Poison], [Wayfinder] and [Adjust Taste]
[Spot Clean] was too useful, as was [Rapid Aging]; I literally couldn’t afford to lose them. [Lucky Break] could go into the pot, along with [Pete’s Lucky Brew]. That would be a nice luck boost, and one of them counted as an ultra-rare Personalized Ability. [Adjust Taste], while neat, could help pad the numbers.
I was about to discount [Pete’s Miniature Rembrance] by reflex, but then thought about it more seriously. Over the past couple months I’d summoned just about everything I could think of and recreated them. And ever since Copperpot learned my secret, I’d held nothing back. He now had a massive inventory of sketches and models to draw from. Outside of evolving the Ability one day and getting larger items, which was in no way guaranteed, I didn’t use it for much beyond stress balls these days.
And it was another super rare Personalized Ability. What would mixing them give…
I threw it in the pot.
Which left one more. [Sense Poison] was too mundane, and [Wayfinder] might save my life one day. Which left [Big Money], an Ability that let store my gold in an extradinsional space. I didn’t really need it, and it might give an interesting twist to so of my choices.
“Alrighty everyone. I’m going to toss [Big Money], [Pete’s Miniature Rembrance], [Pete’s Lucky Brew], [Lucky Break], and [Adjust Taste] into the Specialisation. Speak now or forever hold your peace.”
Rosie sighed with relief. “Ach, I’ll be glad ta see [Lucky Brew] go. Too many durned idjits were using our bottles as maces in bar brawls. It was gettin’ dangerous.”
“[Miniature Rembrance]? Are you sure?” Aqua asked, notebook at the ready.
“Aye, I don’t really need it anymore.”
“It’s your Abilities Pete.” Aqua patted on the knee. “You know best.”
I took a big breath, and activated the prompt.
*Bing!*
Specialisation Possible!
Please select 5 Milestones to combine into a Specialisation!
You have selected [Pete’s Miniature Rembrance], [Pete’s Lucky Brew], [Lucky Break], [Adjust Taste], and [Big Money].
rge Milestones?
Yes/No
I chose yes.
*Bing!*
Specialisation Gained
You have decided to Specialise! Specialisation is an important decision that will guide your future growth. Your selected Milestones will combine to give you powerful new Blessings that will help you down your chosen path. Choose wisely, for what you choose will co to define you.
The following four Specialisations are available to you.
Barck’s Bartender
Otherworldly Lucky Crafter
Crafter of Fortune
Legendary Archemist
Walls of text filled my vision and I got busy deciding on the next chapter in my life. But honestly, with a na like Legendary Archemist, this was probably a done deal.
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